Traversing hoist arrangement

ABSTRACT

A pair of transversely spaced elongated parallel rails are provided each having an inwardly directed track and an outwardly directed track. At least two carriages are mounted on these rails with each carriage having on each side two or more wheels. The wheels of one carriage are spaced apart transversely to such an extent that they will roll on the inner tracks of the rails, and the wheels of the other carriage are spaced apart transversely to a greater extent so as to roll on the outer tracks of the rails, with the arrangement being such that the carriages can pass one another on the rails.

United States Patent [191 Strecke 1 Feb. 27, 1973 [54] TRAVERSING HOISTARRANGEMENT [76] Inventor: Heinz Strecke, Lindenbaumstrasse [30] ForeignApplication Priority Data Dec. 30, 1969 Germany ..P 19 65 450.3 June 15,1970 Germany ..P 20 29 454.6

[52] US. Cl. ..2l2/l28, 104/91, 104/94,

[51] Int. Cl. ..B61b 3/02, B66c 19/00, E01b 25/22 [58] Field of Search..104/68, 94, 95, 91; 105/7, 105/153, l54,155;198/1,18, 99; 212/1281,138,100 5/1915 Gale, Jr. ..198/18 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS333,206 2/1921 Germany ..105/7 471,992 2/1929 Germany 105/7 1,237,7513/1967 Germany .105/7 Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza AssistantExaminer-Howard Beltran Attorney-Michael S. Striker 5 7 ABSTRACT A pairof transversely spaced elongated parallel rails are provided each havingan inwardly directed track and an outwardly directed track. At least twocarriages are mounted on these rails with each carriage having on eachside two or more wheels. The wheels of one carriage are spaced aparttransversely to such an extent that they will roll on the inner tracksof the rails, and the wheels of the other carriage are spaced aparttransversely to a greater extent so as to roll on the outer tracks ofthe rails, with the arrangement being such that the carriages can passone another on the rails.

16 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENIED 3,718,263

SHEET 30F 4 Wmlar:

lie/m. Srkecz TRAVERSING HOIST ARRANGEMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to conveying arrangement, andmore particularly to an arrangement for conveying or transportingworkpieces between working stations.

It is known to connect working stations by means of rails on whichcarriages are mounted for rolling movement, with engaging means beingprovided on the carriages for engaging workpieces which are to betransported from one to another of the working stations. It is alsoknown, of course, to effect such essentially horizontal transportationby means of ropes, chains or the like, but the use of carriages has beenfound more advantageous because it makes it possible to transport theworkpieces without having them swing in pendulum fashion, as would bethe case if they were suspended from ropes, chains or the like. Thus,the workpieces can be precisely positioned and guided during theirtransportation.

In order to obtain maximum advantages from such carriage transportationit is desirable to subject the rollers or wheels as well as the rails onwhich they move to as little load as possible, and at the same time tothereby assure that the carriages move smoothly. This is accomplished bymaking the chassis of the carriage as long as possible. Unfortunately,the length of the chassis is limited by the length of the workingstation, that is the dimension of the working station in the directionlongitudinally of the rails, because it is necessary in such conveyingarrangements that two relatively closely adjacent working stations becapable of being simultaneously served by two carriages so that thechassis of the carriages must not be excessively long lest it interferewith a carriage at an adjacent working station.

It is clear, therefore, that this type of conveying arrangement is inneed of further improvements which have, in fact, long been recognizedas desirable but have not before been forthcoming.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, accordingly, an object of the presentinvention to provide an improved conveying arrangement of the type underdiscussion which is not bereft of the aforementioned disadvantages.

Another object of the invention is to provide such an improvedarrangement in which the carriage or carriages operate smoothly with aminimum of vibrations or other undesired movements.

A concomitant object of the invention is to provide such an improvedconveying arrangement in which two adjacent working stations can besimultaneously served by two carriages, and in which the chassis of therespective carriages can be longer than the distance of the workingstations from one another along the rails.

In pursuance of the above objects, and others which will become apparenthereafter, one feature of the invention resides in a conveyingarrangement which, briefly stated, comprises elongated transverselyspaced parallel rail means having a pair of inner tracks and a pair ofouter tracks. At least two carriages are provided mounted on the railmeans. One of these carriages has at least two first sets of lateralwheels spaced transversely by a first distance and rollingly engagingthe inner tracks of the rail means, and the other of the carriages as atleast two second sets of lateral wheels spaced transversely by a greatersecond distance and rollingly engaging the outer tracks so as to permitmovement of the carriages past one another.

By resorting to the present invention it is possible to have the twocarriages simultaneously serve two adjacent narrow working stations. Onthe other hand, by making it possible to have the chassis length of thecarriages be greater than the distance between the two working stations,the carriages will run much more smoothly and quietly and will not besubjected to vibrations and similar disturbing motions. The utilizationof-in the currently preferred embodimentonly two rails is veryeconomical because it is quite easy to mount and adjust two rails sothat they are in exact parallelism with one another, with many sourcesof error in parallel arrangement being thereby avoided. However, it isalso possible for instance to use three or four rails if it is kept inmind that this will require more complicated mounting and adjustingefforts to eliminate the possibility of complete or partialnonparallelism and similar difficulties which will cause the carriagesto run less than smoothly.

Each of the carriages may be provided on each lateral side with two oreven a greater number of wheels, which term is intended to be genericand to employ any type of roller or similar element with which thecarriage can engage the rails and move along the same. By using arelatively large number of such rails for each lateral side of therespective carriage, each wheel need absorb only a fraction ofthe totalweight of the carriage and any load carried by it, so that the carriagewill run more smoothly. At the same time this construction makes itpossible to make the wheels themselves, or at least the portions thereofwhich engage the tracks of the rails, of an elastically yieldablematerial which in turn further reduces undesired motions of the carriageduring movement, making it run more smoothly and also more quietly.

The rails may be of T-shaped cross-section or of H- shaped crosssection, and the tracks may be provided on respectively inwardly andoutwardly directed flanges thereof. The inner and outer track of therespective rails may be located in the same transverse plane, they maybe located in superposed planes or they may be located in planes atdifferent levels but be laterally offset with reference to one another.Of course, the inner and outer track may also each be provided on aseparate rail, in which case it would then be necessary to provide twopairs of rails, namely an inner pair of rails and an outer pair of railsflanking the inner pair and provided with the outer tracks.

According to the invention it is also possible to have the terminalwheels on the respective carriages, that is the wheels located farthestapart in the direction of elongation of the respective carriage, bespaced from one another by a distance which is greater than the lengthof a working station, measured in the direction of elongation of therails serving the station. The wheels may be surrounded by an endlesselastically yieldable annulus which in turn engages the tracks.

It is also possible to provide the carriages for propulsion purposeswith wheels or rollers which are driven and which frictionally engagesurfaces of the respective rails other than the tracks, and these drivenpropulsion wheels may be biased into engagement with such surfaces bymeans of suitable biasing means and may be lifted off such surfaces ifand when desired. Ordinarily it is also possible to provide thepropulsion means in form of a band-drive associated with the respectivecarriage and convoluted about a plurality of support rollers which pressit against the surfaces of the rails which are to be frictionallyengaged, with the band being driven by a motor preferably mounted on therespective carriage. Finally, the carriages may also each be providedwith a lifting device for the workpiece-engaging instrumentality, andthe lifting device may be located within the confines delimited byvertical planes passing through the respective rails.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERREDEMBODIMENTS Discussing now the drawing in detail, and firstly theembodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, it is pointed out that theconveying arrangement there shown .is intended for use with carriageswhich have at their opposite ends respective frames provided withwheels. These carriages are supported by a pair of transversely spacedparallel rails 4 and 4a which are of inverted-T profile as illustrated.These rails are provided with respective inner flanges 5 and 5a, andwith respective outer flanges 6 and 6a. The upper surfaces of theflanges 5 and 5a are the inner tracks and the upper surfaces of theflanges 6 and 6a are the outer tracks. Mounted on the rails 4 and 4a aretwo carriages W and W which differ from one another only in that thewheels 7 of the carriage W are supported on the upper surfaces of theinner flanges 5 and 5a, respectively, whereas the wheels 7 of thecarriage W are supported on the upper surfaces of the outer flanges 6and 6a, respectively.

Carriage W has a frame 2 on which the wheels 7 are mounted for rotation,and a similar frame 2 carrying the wheels 7' is provided for thecarriage W. The length of the frames 2 and 2 as seen in the direction ofelongation of the rails 4 and 4a is greater than that of the remainingcomponents of the carriages W and W. This makes it possible for thesecarriages to move much closer together as seen longitudinally of therails than the length of the frames 2 and 2' would ordinarily permit ifthe rollers or wheels 7 and 7' were to run on one and the same track,rather than on inner and outer tracks, respectively.

Inasmuch as the carriages W and W are identical except for thetransverse spacing of their respective wheels 7 and 7, only the carriageW will be described hereafter. It is to be understood that the referencenumerals employed for designating components of the carriages W and Ware identical except that the components of the carriage W areidentified with reference numerals which are the same as those used toidentify components of the carriage W but have added thereto a primesymbol.

Discussing now the carriage W as a representative of both carriages, itis pointed out that the frame 2 is mounted on a pair of parallelhorizontal supports 8a and 8b. These are connected to form a rigid frameby the transverse braces 80. An arm 11 is pivoted to the member 8aapproximately below each of the frames 2 and its end portion is engagedby a spring 13 whose cover end in turn is supported via a rod 12 by theopposite element 8b. The arms 11 are connected with one another by twoparallel supports 25 which are connected by cross braces 8d. A motor 21and journals for a shaft 26 driven by the motor 21 are supported on thecross braces 8d, and rollers 9 are mounted on the opposite ends of theshaft 26. These rollers 9 engage from below the center of the rails 4and 4a and are urged against them by springs 13. The rollers 9 can thusbe driven by the motor 21 when the same is energized and due to theirfrictional engagement with the rails 4 and 4a they will then advance thecarriage W longitudinally of the rails. When the arms 11 are pivoteddownwardly, the rollers 9 are moved out of engagement with the rails 4and 4a so that the carriage W will stop. The downward pivoting of thearms 1 1 is effected by means of a rod 14 which is axially shiftable andacts upon the upper end of the rod 12.

A lifting device is provided on the element 8a and located within thespace which is delimited by vertical planes passing through the rails 4and 4a. This lifting device utilizes two vertical U-shaped profiledelements 10 which are secured to the element and which guide ahorizontal guide member 17 each. A cross brace 17a rigidly connects theguide elements 17 which latter together support a rod 1 the end of whichis provided with receivers 3 for receiving the elements capable ofsupporting workpieces to be transported. Each guide element 17 isconnected with an end portion of a chain 18 which is trained about alower reversing roller 19 and leads to a counterweight 20 which in turnis connected with a rope l5 trained about a rope drum 26 and connectedwith the rod 1. The rope drums 26 are both connected by means of a shaft23 which can be driven by a motor 22 so that energization of the motor22 in a desired sense can serve for raising and lifting the liftingdevices and thereby any workpieces supported by them.

The rollers 7 may be provided with a soft surface, such as a laminarelastically yieldable surface, which engages the respective tracks,because the weight acting upon them is distributed over many suchrollers. However, the rollers may also be surrounded by bandshapedelement 24 as shown in FIG. 3.

The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 is somewhat different from that ofFIGS. 1-3. I-Iere transportation of the carriages along the rails 5 iseffected in that spring pressure serves to press against the undersideof each rail 5 three rollers 9a, 9b and 9c. An endless drive band 27 isturned about the rollers 9a, 9b and 9c being pressed by them against theunderside of the respective rail 5. It is further turned about a roller28 which is journalled at the end of a lever arm 29 which is so mountedthat it can be pivoted about the axis of a motor 21 which drives theroller 28. Thus, motor 21 can drive the roller 28 and via the roller 28the tape or band 27 so that the same, being urged into frictionalengagement with the underside of the respective rail 5 by the rollers9a, 9b and 9c, transports the respective carriage along the rails. Whenit is desired to terminate motion of the carriage the motor 21 can beenergized, or else the arm 29 can be pivoted upwardly, both actionshaving the result of terminating advancement of the carriage.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofconstructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in aconveying arrangement, it is not intended to be limited to the detailsshown, since various modifications and structural changes may be madewithout departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can by applying current knowledgereadily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent isset forth in the appended claims:

1. A conveying arrangement, comprising elongated transversely spacedparallel rail means having a pair of inner tracks and a pair of outertracks; at least two carriages mounted on said rail means and havingidentically dimensioned chassis located at least substantially in acommon transverse plane, one of said carriages having at least two firstsets of lateral wheels spaced transversely by a first distance and eachcomposed of a plurality of longitudinally spaced first wheels rollinglyengaging said inner tracks, and the other of said carriages having atleast two second sets of lateral wheels spaced transversely by a greatersecond distance and each composed of a plurality of longitudinallyspaced second wheels rollingly engaging said outer tracks, so as topermit movement of said carriages into and past one another, thelongitudinal spacing of the wheels of the respective sets being greaterthan the length of the respective chassis; and engaging and conveyingmeans provided on each of said carriages and including lifting means forworkpieces and the like.

2. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said wheelshave track-engaging surfaces and are composed, at least in the region ofsaid surfaces, of resiliently yieldable material.

3. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 1,

wherein said wheels each have a main portion provided with acircumferential surface, and an endless annular portion of elasticallyyieldable mate rial encirclin said main portion in engagement with saidsurface an provided with a track-engaging outer face.

4. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said railmeans extends between at least two spaced working stations each having agiven length; and wherein said carriages are elongated and therespective sets of wheels are spaced longitudinally of the associatedcarriage by a distance greater than said given length.

5. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said railmeans comprises at least two parallel rails of T-shaped cross-sectionwith said inner and outer tracks being provided on respective inwardlyand outwardly directed flanges of said rails.

6. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said railmeans comprises at least two parallel rails of H-shaped cross-sectionwith said inner and outer tracks being provided on respective inwardlyand outwardly directed flanges of said rails.

7. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 1, said rail meanscomprising at least two parallel rails each having one of said inner andone of said outer tracks.

8. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 7, wherein said inner andouter tracks of each rail are locatedin superposed planes.

9. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 7, wherein said inner andouter tracks of each rail are located side by side in a common plane.

10. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 7, wherein said innerand outer tracks of each rail are located in different superposedplanes.

11. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 1, said rail meanscomprising at least two inner rails each provided with one of said innertracks, and at least two outer rails flanking said inner rails and eachprovided with one of said outer tracks.

12. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 1, at least some of saidwheels of each of said carriages being driven wheels and bearing againstsaid rail means in frictional engagement therewith.

13. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 12; and furthercomprising biasing means biasing said driven wheels against said railmeans.

14. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 13; and disengagingmeans for disengaging said driven wheels from said rail means.

15. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 1; further comprisingdrive means for said carriages each comprising a drive band, a pluralityof rollers about which said drive band is convoluted and which urge thesame into frictional contact with said rail means, and motor means foradvancing said drive band longitudinally of itself and of the respectivecarriage.

16. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 1, said rail meansincluding at least two transversely spaced rails; and said lifting meansbeing arranged within the confines of imaginary vertical planesintersecting the respective rails.

1. A conveying arrangement, comprising elongated transversely spacedparallel rail means having a pair of inner tracks and a pair of outertracks; at least two carriages mounted on said rail means and havingidentically dimensioned chassis located at least substantially in acommon transverse plane, one of said carriages having at least two firstsets of lateral wheels spaced transversely by a first distance and eachcomposed of a plurality of longitudinally spaced first wheels rollinglyengaging said inner tracks, and the other of said carriages having atleast two second sets of lateral wheels spaced transversely by a greatersecond distance and each composed of a plurality of longitudinallyspaced second wheels rollingly engaging said outer tracks, so as topermit movement of said carriages into and past one another, thelongitudinal spacing of the wheels of the respective sets being greaterthan the length of the respective chassis; and engaging and conveyingmeans provided on each of said carriages and including lifting means forworkpieces and the like.
 2. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim1, wherein said wheels have track-engaging surfaces and are composed, atleast in the region of said surfaces, of resiliently yieldable material.3. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said wheelseach have a main portion provided with a circumferential surface, and anendless annular portion of elastically yieldable material encirclingsaid main portion in engagement with said surface and provided with atrack-engaging outer face.
 4. A conveying arrangement as defined inclaim 1, wherein said rail means extends between at least two spacedworking stations each having a given length; and wherein said carriagesare elongated and the respective sets of wheels are spacedlongitudinally of the associated carriage by a distance greater thansaid given length.
 5. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 1,wherein said rail means comprises at least two parallel rails ofT-shaped cross-section with said inner and outer tracks being providedon respective inwardly and outwardly directed flanges of said rails. 6.A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said rail meanscomprises at least two parallel rails of H-shaped cross-section withsaid inner and outer tracks being provided on respective inwardly andoutwardly directed flanges of said rails.
 7. A conveying arrangement asdefined in claim 1, said rail means comprising at least two parallelrails each having one of said inner and one of said outer tracks.
 8. Aconveying arrangement as defined in claim 7, wherein said inner andouter tracks of each rail are located in superposed planes.
 9. Aconveying arrangement as defined in claim 7, wherein said inner andouter tracks of each rail are located side by side in a common plane.10. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 7, wherein said innerand outer tracks of each rail are located in different superposedplanes.
 11. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 1, said railmeans comprising at least two inner rails each provided with one of saidinnEr tracks, and at least two outer rails flanking said inner rails andeach provided with one of said outer tracks.
 12. A conveying arrangementas defined in claim 1, at least some of said wheels of each of saidcarriages being driven wheels and bearing against said rail means infrictional engagement therewith.
 13. A conveying arrangement as definedin claim 12; and further comprising biasing means biasing said drivenwheels against said rail means.
 14. A conveying arrangement as definedin claim 13; and disengaging means for disengaging said driven wheelsfrom said rail means.
 15. A conveying arrangement as defined in claim 1;further comprising drive means for said carriages each comprising adrive band, a plurality of rollers about which said drive band isconvoluted and which urge the same into frictional contact with saidrail means, and motor means for advancing said drive band longitudinallyof itself and of the respective carriage.
 16. A conveying arrangement asdefined in claim 1, said rail means including at least two transverselyspaced rails; and said lifting means being arranged within the confinesof imaginary vertical planes intersecting the respective rails.